Image by UNARMED CIVILIAN via Flickr
NextNewsNetwork·Feb 26, 2013
The NDAA has been called the death of our republican form of government. That acronym refers to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, which contains a provision allowing the president to order the indefinite military detention of anyone accused of offering substantial support to al-Qaeda or “associated forces.”
The measure does not define critical terms — for instance, what groups would be considered “associated forces.” And it applies to U.S. citizens, who — under the ambiguous and expansive terms of that measure — could be detained by the military, on U.S. soil, until what the measure calls the “end of hostilities,” which in the open-ended war on terror could mean forever. According to Obama administration spokesmen, the NDAA could be used to imprison war correspondents and other journalists who cover terrorism-related issues.
The NDAA has no parallel in American history. In fact, it is without precedent in the history of Anglo-Saxon law since the Magna Carta was signed in 1215. Perhaps the closest historical kindred to the NDAA would be Article 58 of the Soviet Criminal Code, which allowed for arrest and summary imprisonment of anyone suspected of working to undermine the Soviet state.
Journalist and activist Tangerine Bolen is one of eight plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the NDAA. Although she voted for Obama, she describes herself as “terrified” by the arbitrary powers that the president and his advisers can now exercise in the name of fighting terrorism.
***
Mainstream Still Silent on NDAA
breakingtheset·Feb 22, 2013
Manuel Rapalo talks to Alexa O’Brien, journalist and plaintiff in the lawsuit against the NDAA’s indefinite detention clause, about the latest in the case and why the issue has yet to permeate the mainstream media.
see also:
US Supreme Court DENIES application to vacate stay in StopNDAA lawsuit
see
NDAA: Hedges v. Obama: Did The Bill of Rights Die Today? by Jill Dalton
The NDAA and the Death of the Democratic State by Chris Hedges
Pingback: California Senate Says No to NDAA + Supreme Court May Rule on Fate of Indefinite Detention for Americans Under NDAA | Dandelion Salad
Pingback: Chris Hedges on NDAA Defeat: It’s a Black Day for Liberty | Dandelion Salad
Pingback: Noam Chomsky: #NDAA–Obama admin. is rushing through to pass legislation to permit indefinite detention in military prisons | Dandelion Salad
Pingback: Chris Hedges: The Democratic Party Would Be a Far-Right Party in Europe | Dandelion Salad